The invention relates to motorized land mobility devices for transporting loads over a variety of terrain in robotic, industrial and handicapped uses. In particular, the present invention incorporates a motorized track mechanism for propelling robots and load carrying apparatus.
The use of endless traction belts is well known in the field of land vehicles. Endless traction belts have been used in earthmoving equipment as well as in military equipment such as tanks and half-tracks. Endless traction belts have previously been applied in the field of wheel chairs as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,044,850. In that patent, the wheelchair made use of both conventional wheelchair wheels in combination with an endless track mechanism, but the use of the track mechanism in that patent is limited to incline/decline situations such as stairs and is not used for to overland travel.
These and -other mechanisms have permitted the operator of the machine to navigate inclines and varied terrain. However, none of the prior tracked mechanisms provide for track adjustment capability to enable use of the track mechanism over a variety of terrain.
It is an object of the invention to provide a mobility device capable of traversing a variety of terrain.
It is another object of the invention to provide a mobility device for use in robotics, industry and wheelchairs.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a mobility device having adjustable track mechanisms.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a mobility device having in combination height adjustable wheels and a track mechanism.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a split track mechanism which can be extended and retracted.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a load carrier that can be adjusted to maintain a horizontal position when the mobility device ascends an incline.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a system of clutches in combination with the track system to permit turning of the device when being propelled by the track system.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a mobility device which is capable of alternatively wheeled or track propulsion.
These and other objects of the present invention will be readily apparent upon review of the following detailed description of the invention and the accompanying drawings. These objects of the present invention are not exhaustive and are not to be construed as limiting the scope of the claimed invention. Further, it must be understood that no one embodiment of the present invention need include all of the aforementioned objects of the present invention. Rather, a given embodiment may include one or none of the aforementioned objects. Accordingly, these objects are not to be used to limit the scope of the claims of the present invention.
In summary, the invention is directed to a universal adjustable-position mobility device for multiple use applications including robotics, industry and handicapped mobility facilitation. The device can be used to transport objects across varied terrain including inclines and declines and by utilizing a sliding extensible track system can bridge obstacles and traverse mud, sand and snow. The device further incorporates features which allow raising and lowering of the center of gravity of the load. By extending the rear wheels, the angle of the track mechanism relative to the ground to can be adjusted to facilitate engagement of the tracks with an abrupt incline such as when loading a wheelchair onto a vehicle.